Milwaukee Doulas Work to Lower Maternal and Child Mortality Rates

Black mothers and their babies are dying at alarming rates in Milwaukee. Doulas and birth workers are trying to prevent loss in the community.

Doulas are people trained to provide emotional and physical support to mothers before, during and after childbirth.

Lakeeta Watts, a Milwaukee doula and health worker, founded Essentially Empowered Inc. to provide trauma-informed support and education to her community. The nonprofit offers support groups, youth council activities, perinatal health services and educational workshops.

Trauma-Informed Care Certification: A Doula Workshop

The City of Milwaukee declared racism a public health crisis in 2019 after reports of startling numbers shed light on racial disparities in healthcare. According to a  2016-2017 Wisconsin Department of Health Services report, while Black mothers made up only 24% of births in the state, they accounted for 42% of all pregnancy-related deaths. The DHS found that 97% of them were preventable.

In the same year, the city launched the Birth Outcomes Made Better (BOMB) Doula program to support Milwaukee mothers and infants. According to a 2021 Annual Health Report, the program works with pregnant people prenatally at any stage of pregnancy.

A $16 Million Investment

In October 2022, Governor Tony Evers announced a $16 million grant for maternal and child health to combat racial disparities following a 2020 report that found Wisconsin had the worst Black infant mortality rate in the United States. Infants born to Black mothers in Wisconsin are three times more likely to die before their first birthday than infants with white mothers.

According to the City of Milwaukee Maternal and Child Health Director Rosamaria Martinez, infant mortality in Milwaukee for 2022 was about 15.9% for Black families, compared to 5.7% for White and Asian families.

“An increase of that much, of that magnitude, honestly has our attention and we are making efforts to address that,” Martinez said.

The grant supports community and education-driven organizations like doula and midwife programs, pre-conception care and education, accessible affordable housing and education campaigns.

“Is it going to solve the problem? No,” said Martinez. “Is it necessary to start to add more tools to the toolbox and be able to address it? Absolutely. I think this is one more tool to the toolbox and I think that if we leverage our partnerships, we have more of a chance of improving those numbers. Because we can’t not do anything.”

The five-year plan

Erica Olivier, deputy commissioner of community health at the City of Milwaukee Health Department, described a strategic five-year plan that the city will implement in 2023.

The department will focus on collaborating with community programs and medical facilities to define what kind of support they need.

“We need to have these opportunities and spaces for our neighbors, community businesses, stakeholders or whoever,” said Olivier. “It’s been a very robust journey. But we’re definitely in a really good place of now having a much clearer plan in action.”

While Olivier was happy to see grant money go to mental health services and community efforts, she noted the importance of sustainable and longitudinal funding for the future.

“Put your money where your mouth is,” said Olivier. “Make sure that it’s stable and longitudinal, and make sure that it’s equitably dispersed in a way that everybody can get a piece of this pie.”